11-Year-Old Girl Sets Mom on Fire

An 11-year-old girl is in a psychiatric ward and her mother in the hospital after the girl set the woman's bed on fire. Police say the act was in retaliation over an argument about cigarettes the girl had stolen from her mother the day before. and arson resulting in serious injury in the attack on Nancy Broadhead.

Samantha and her boyfriend, Jack Ault, poured gasoline on Broadhead's bed and the bedroom floor. Then they ignited the fuel and took off in Broadhead's 1997 Ford Focus. The vehicle was later found abandoned in a parking lot at a Clearwater church.

The smoke alarm woke Broadhead and she managed to get out of the house. When police and fire officials were dispatched shortly after 1 a.m. Tuesday, they found the mother in the front yard, seriously burned and suffering from smoke inhalation. She was transported to the burn unit and Tampa General Hospital and although her burns are serious, she is in fair condition.

Samantha was arrested after returning home and Ault was found at a friend's house. Ault was also charged with grand theft for stealing Broadhead's car. The girl has been admitted to the hospital for a psychiatric evaluation. A decision about whether to charge Ault as an adult will likely be made next week.

In the state of Florida, minors younger than 14 can only be charged as adults in the case of a capital felony, such as murder. Attempted murder is not a capital felony.

This was Samantha's first arrest, however, Ault has been in trouble with the law multiple times before.

The 15-year-old has been arrested numerous times since 2003, five times this year alone. The most serious charge this year was for domestic battery. Samantha Broadhead and her 15-year-old boyfriend are charged with attempted murderI would like to know what an 11-year-old girl is doing dating a 15-year-old. When I was 11, I wasn't even interested in boys! And what would attract a high schooler to a little girl still in elementary school? Where did she get the idea that cigarettes are worth killing for? Did the idea come from her boyfriend or did she come up with the idea on her own? And what does an 11-year-old want with cigarettes?!

I am just shocked at what young children are doing. You know that if her boyfriend is a teenager, that she is probably sexually active and she most likely hasn't even gone through puberty yet! What is causing our children to react with such violence, rage, and hatred?

It is becoming very clear to many parents that something needs to change. The way we parent, what we expose young minds to, and what friends our children have need to be paid more attention to. We need to set examples and rules instead of letting children raise themselves. If a child at any age shows personality changes or seems to be full of rage and anger, we need to get that child counseling and find out what is happening.

Most important of all, we need to pray for our children. For our children and all children worldwide. This is a very sad case, but it is just one of thousands that are being reported each year. These violent children are going to grow up to be even more violence and emotionally numb as adults. What a scary world this is becoming.

Sources:

ABC News: Girl, 11, Charged Along With Boyfriend For Allegedly Setting Mom On Fire, http://abcnews.go.com/Health/girl-11-charged-boyfriend-allegedly-setting-mom-fire/story?id=9448785&page=1